1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a method for predicting the occurrence of longitudinal cracks in the continuous casting of steel slabs in which the local strand temperature is measured by thermal elements arranged so as to be distributed in a mold wall.
2. Related Art
Previous methods with direct measurement and evaluation of the temperature values such as are described, for example, in JP 01210160 A or JP 62192243 A are often unsuccessful due to the high failure rate of the thermal elements and the poor connection between the tip of the thermal element and the copper of the mold. These connection problems result in signals which are very unreliable with respect to the temperature level.
On the other hand, both of the facts mentioned above give each mold its own “fingerprint” (its own pattern or identifying image). This fingerprint is characterized by deviations in the temperature level and total failures within the high quantity of thermal elements arranged in rows on the broad side and narrow side.